Double vinyl LP-only set featuring the revered pop culture pundit's choice of singles from a year that culminated in the release of the first punk 45s. Here's Jon himself with the background. OK, here's the situation. The Top 10 best-selling singles of 1976 included just one banger - Abba's 'Dancing Queen' - and a variety of horrors topped by the Brotherhood Of Man ('Save Your Kisses For Me') and Elton John and Kiki Dee ('Don't Go Breaking My Heart'). At #7, after a couple of smooth US rockers, was another horror: 'Fernando' by Abba. Down a bit at #16 was perhaps the most egregious example of a bad year: the Wurzels' 'The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)'. For this compilation, same rules as usual: singles only, roughly chronological by UK release dates. Slight liberties have been taken with Roxy Music and Buzzcocks, but both existed in some real form during 1976. As usual, around two-thirds are records I listened to at the time and that meant something to me, while the remainder I found more recently, filling in my understanding of the year. 'Shack Up' is a good example: I heard it through A Certain Ratio and found the Banbarra original in the bins shortly afterwards.
Track list 24
11.1 Roxy Music - Both Ends Burning
21.2 Burning Spear - Old Marcus Garvey
31.3 Max Romeo ; The Upsetters - War In A Babylon
41.4 Patti Smith Group - My Generation
51.5 10cc - I'm Mandy Fly Me
61.6 Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
71.7 Banbarra - Shack Up
81.8 Hello - Teenage Revolution
91.9 Ramones - Havana Affair
10
1.10 The Runaways - Cherry Bomb
111.11 Blondie - In The Sun
121.12 The 101'ers - Keys To Your Heart
132.1 Eddie ; The Hot Rods - Horseplay (Weary Of The Schmaltz)
142.2 Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves
152.3 The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action
162.4 Hot Blood - Soul Dracula
172.5 Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
182.6 Nick Lowe - Heart Of The City
192.7 Lewis Furey - Top Ten Sexes
202.8 Miami - Kill That Roach
212.9 The Saints - (I'm) Stranded
222.10 The Damned - New Rose
232.11 Pere Ubu - Street Waves
242.12 Buzzcocks - Time's Up
Jon Savage's 1976 Something Was Going To Happen · Jon Savage's 1976 Something Was Going To Happen · Moose Vinyl